The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department took an important stand last week, declaring that citizens have a First Amendment right to videotape the actions of police officers in public places and that seizure or destruction of such recordings violates constitutional rights.

In the last 12 months, the state has pocketed $101 million from traffic citations, according to information obtained from the Florida Department of Revenue. That figure doesn’t even include the money distributed to individual counties and cities.

Forgetting to pay a speeding ticket in the District could lead to a surprise beyond a license suspension: a lower tax refund from the city beginning as soon as next year.

Just outside the nation’s capital, Fairfax County, Virginia depends heavily on motorists to prop up its annual budget. Speed traps help generate $7.7 million in revenue through the courts and another $3.1 million from parking citations. In a quarterly report to the board of supervisors, the county Office of Financial and Program Audit (OFPA) raised the alarm that meter maids have not sufficiently productive.

A Memphis City Council Member has proposed using automated license plate readers and red-light cameras to help assess vehicle inspection fees on nonresidents who frequently travel into the city.

Two more California cities have given up on the use of red-light cameras. On Tuesday, the city councils in Emeryville and Yuba City each voted to discontinue the use of automated ticketing machines, primarily out of a concern that the programs were failing to generate the expected amount of revenue. 

Prichard is counting on thousands of speeders to generate new revenue for the city, pay for six police officers and help curb crime, Mayor Ron Davis said Wednesday.

Get a ticket generated by one of the District’s speed and red-light cameras? If a D.C. Council committee gets its way, “Someone else was driving” won’t be an acceptable excuse anymore for motorists looking to transfer blame.

Stability control was made mandatory on passenger vehicles for this current model year, but it’s still not a requirement for semis and busses. But that could soon be changing, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed requiring the technology on all new large commercial trucks, motorcoaches, and other large buses.

The city of New Orleans will set up a new method for drivers to appeal tickets issued by traffic cameras if Gov. Bobby Jindal goes along with a bill passed 93-0 by the House late Wednesday.